Its the holiday season! With the holidays comes lots of waste, in fact, according to the augustafreepress.com (https://augustafreepress.com/10-tips-for-a-more-sustainable-holiday-season/), Americans throw away twenty five percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New years Eve. It’s important especially during the holiday season to continue to be environmentally conscious and more aware of the things we use and the things we waste. There are many things that Americans waste during the holiday season besides trash, things like trees and lights waste other resources as well.
Saving Electric Resources
Its important to consider all of the ways you can truly be environmentally friendly as the season kicks off. When it comes to the start of the holiday season, everyone is rushing around to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones, however, not only can the holiday hustle traffic be a pain, but it can also take up a lot more gas than you realize. When shopping, as well, its important to remember that batteries in landfills are not at all good for the environment, so when you’re looking at toys for your little loved ones, consider finding toys that use rechargeable batteries instead of normal ones as they are more sustainable due to energy and reuse. While holiday light shows are super enticing and great holiday date ideas, consider switching your holiday lights to LED, not only does this save up to 75% more energy than regular holiday lights, but combined with a light timer, electricity time, and costs can be immensely reduced.
Other ways to save
If you enjoy a real tree in your home during the holiday season, be sure to dispose of it properly. Not everyone has a wood chipper or the means to do so, so bringing your tree to a chipping facility or even to a local landscaping company and asking them to chip it for you can save it from going to sit in a landfill. Recycled trees can be used for so many awesome things like recycled paper, or even mulch.
Another way to save on paper is to cut back on the wrapping paper. Due to the high amount of ink and dye in wrapping paper, its not able to be recycled properly. Consider wrapping your presents in brown paper bags that can be decorated by your own artistry, or even use things like fabric scraps to make ends meet.
While holiday cards are sentimental and exciting to receive in the mail, instead of sending them maybe consider sending e-cards or posting your “christmas card” to a social media outlet for all your friends and family to see. Not only does this reduce the gas that the mail truck uses, but it can also reduce wasted paper that is seen once and then thrown away when the holiday season ends.
No matter what you do, even something small, you can save the environment while also keeping it ho-ho-holiday friendly.